Senftleben, Martin --- "Overprotection and Protection Overlaps in Intellectual Property Law – the Need for Horizontal Fair Use Defences" [2011] ELECD 450; in Kur, Annette; Mizaras, Vytautas (eds), "The Structure of Intellectual Property Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: The Structure of Intellectual Property Law

Editor(s): Kur, Annette; Mizaras, Vytautas

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448766

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: Overprotection and Protection Overlaps in Intellectual Property Law – the Need for Horizontal Fair Use Defences

Author(s): Senftleben, Martin

Number of pages: 46

Extract:

8. Overprotection and protection
overlaps in intellectual property law
­ the need for horizontal fair use
defences
Martin Senftleben*

1. INTRODUCTION

During recent decades, intellectual property (IP) protection has been
expanded continuously.1 New technologies have been found to be eli-
gible for patent protection.2 New types of marks have been recognized
in trademark law.3 Copyright law is no longer confined to the cultural
domain.4 In parallel, the exclusive rights of IP owners have been broad-



* Ph.D.; Professor of Intellectual Property, VU University Amsterdam;
Senior Consultant, Bird & Bird, The Hague.
1 For an early critical assessment of this broader trend, see Spoor, J.H.

(1990), De gestage groei van merk, werk en uitvinding, Zwolle: Tjeenk Willink.
2 This tendency has been particularly strong in US patent law. For instance,

see US Supreme Court[1980] USSC 119; , 447 US 303 (1980), Diamond v Chakrabarty, with regard
to biotechnology. Cf. Maier, G.J. and Mattson, R. C. (2001), `State Street Bank ist
kein Ausreißer: Die Geschichte der Softwarepatentierung im US-amerikanischen
Recht', GRUR Int., p. 677; Merges, R.P. (1999), `As Many as Six Impossible
Patents before Breakfast: Property Rights for Business Concepts and Patent
System Reform', Berkeley Technology Law Journal 14, pp. 577, 587. As to current,
more cautious approaches in US patent law, see US Court of Appeals for the
Federal Circuit, 545 F.3d 943, 88 USPQ.2d 1385 (Fed. Cir. 2008), in Bernard L.
Bilski and Rand A. Warsaw.
3 Cf. Gilson, J. and Gilson, A. (2005), ` ...